Steppin’ Up Her Game
June 14, 2012 in Building and Repurposing, Crashing at Christy's, Pups
Have you ever started one of those projects where you got a couple hours into it, knew it was too late to turn back, but dreaded moving forward? I’d venture to guess that’s how this project went for my sister. Check out her latest DIY UPdate on her house:
Hey, Everyone!
I’m back and it’s only taken me 2 months to blog about this for my sister. It also took me about that same length of time to finish up this project due to my hatred for finishing home improvement projects. They’re just so much more fun to start than finish!
I had been pinning lots of stair photos, getting inspiration from other blogs like Thrifty Décor Chick, Remodelaholic, and Our Vintage Home Love. There were so many other photos and blogs, but these are the few I can remember off the top of my head.
So, late in the Spring I had two fur babies move in along with their human. They are gorgeous, black labs and they like to leave their hair everywhere. Well, the stairs were already a pain to vacuum and the added hair just made them disgusting. I had been looking for an excuse to de-carpet them so now I had it!
First step was to rip the carpet up and ask myself what I had done. O.M.G. The first step I had peeked at wasn’t as bad as the other 12.
Oh well. Time to get rid of all the staples, nails, and tack strips! I should also note that my stairs were rough pine. I know, I’m nuts.
Next up was puttying all the little holes and the not-so-little holes. Make sure you get the putty that is stainable. I used it for some large areas and it doesn’t quite stain as well. But, I will get back to that in a little bit.
Once the putty is all dry, you sand, sand, sand. I used a palm sander and hooked my shop vac up to it. It really cut down on the dust that went into the air. I started with a rougher sand paper and worked my way to the smoother stuff.
Time to stain! My mom found a stain that matches my laminate flooring perfectly when we did that project back in 2008. So, I bought more of the same color and started staining, poly-ing, sanding, poly-ing, sanding, etc. Yep, more sanding. But, I could see the end of sanding!
I had gaps at the edges of each stair tread and riser. So, I used the plastic-y lattice strips to “frame” out the outside edges and the plastic-y quarter round along the back edge of the tread where it met the riser. Did I cut each piece perfectly? Nope! But, caulk saved the day (once again) for me.
So, I had finished treads, trim, and all I lacked was painting the risers and the skirt (I think that’s what it’s called anyway). It sat like that for about 2 months. I’m not exaggerating. During that time I realized that the treads were a little slick for the fur babies. They would practically slide down the 13 stairs and that scared them (and me). So, I bought a set of stair tread rugs. These are the style that I actually bought: http://www.naturalarearugs.com/stair-treads/pre-made-casual-living.php. They were PERFECT! Actually, I think I like my stairs better now than I did without them! They came with Velcro on the back and I can lift them to clean underneath them if I need, but they stay put when they’re supposed to!
Fast forward a couple months later and I painted those suckers. It took a coat of primer and three coats of cheap, Wal-mart paint to cover the risers. But, I’m so happy with them. Now I just do a quick once over with the vacuum wand and they’re clean! I love them. 
Thanks for putting up with my long-winded post!
-Christy
………..I don’t know about you guys, but I’m SWOONING over this makeover. What a difference! Personally, I’d love to see some close-up photos of the trim work she did and the stair tread rugs. Hint Hint Christy. Wink Wink. Pretty Please! Don’t make us beg!
DIY must run in our family. Even my middle sister Karen is handy! She won’t let me blog about her house… or at least I haven’t convinced her yet… but trust me, she loves a makeover as much as the next person. Maybe I’ll just go nuts taking pictures of her house next time I’m there and come home to blog about it. We live 6 hours apart. What’s she going to do? Drive up here to delete the posts?!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Thanks for letting me blog again, Dana! I’ll see what I can do about more pictures. I forgot to mention that once I stained I noticed that the puttied areas didn’t have the woodgrain look the rest of the tread had. So, I used one of the wood touchup markers and drew in the grain on those. Then, poly-ed right over it and it didn’t look too bad!
Love this stair makeover! Thanks for sharing the source on the rugs – I am going to need some of those if I ever get around to peeling the gross carpet off mine. They look great, Christy! Thanks for the post, Dana.
I love sharing Christy’s house with you guys. She does such great projects. Maybe we can talk her into a bathroom before and after next!
Unbelievable! Spectacular makeover!!! SAS Interiors has just finished one almost exactly like this and yours are every bit as beautiful…..and she’s a professional!!! Congrats, Christy! Makes me wish I had stairs!
Aww, what a NICE thing to say! I’m sure you put a smile on Christy’s face!
Looks good, and just so you feel better….. at my house sometimes 2 months sitting on a project is nuth’in!
~Bliss~
I think we all drag our feet on the tough ones!
This came out so great, love the treads!
They’re a must have Karah. We love to pamper our puppers don’t we?!
Wow! That looks fantastic! Who would have thought such gorgeous stairs would be hidden under that carpet?
She definitely put a LOT of elbow grease into those stairs. I can’t wait to see them in person!
Thanks for sharing. This project has actually been on my to do list since the fall. I started one step and have been waivering ever since. I think I’m ready to take the plunge…now only if I can find somewhere to put the kids for this project;). Grandma & Grandpa?
Pretty pretttty please Grandma & Grandpa!
Loving the stair make-over. Am working on duplicating your results! I am removing my old carpeting & came across the gap between wall & stairs, too. Can you please tell me once again, what kind of lattice did you use to close the gap? Thanks!!
Hi Nan! It’s the plasticky white lattice that is about 1 1/4″ wide. I just did two quick coats of the white I was using and then cut my strips. Good luck!!
Hi, I just found this post and hope you are still checking comments. This is really beautiful work. I am wondering how the stairs integrate with the carpet or other flooring at the top of the stair. Where does your new finish end and where does the upstairs flooring start and how? Do you have a finished picture? For instance, is the top carpeted, and is the very top riser still carpeted?
Also, on an unrelated note, do the little tread rugs stay affixed with the velcro or do they come loose sometimes?
Hi Lynn! So the very top is carpeted and the top riser is carpeted. Just like in the first picture. I was worried that it would look forced or unfinished, but it really makes sense. I started the makeover with the first actual stair tread at the top. The tread rugs do not move at all! Like not one inch. The way you lay them down is the way they stay until you pull them up to vacuum, put it back down, and then it’s stuck that way again until you pull it up once more. They’ve been phenomenal and have held up extremely well with our three dogs (and all their hair).
Thanks for the comment!
Hi!! i love how your stairs turned out.. i am working on the same project at my home. Could you please tell me where you bought the “plasticky lattice strip” from? I am looking for the same…as I have slightly large gaps between the wood and the wall.
Regards,
Priya